Curcumin, a component of turmeric (Curcuma longa), is used as a remedy to treat a wide variety of ailments through a number of separate pharmacological pathways. Among the range of diseases curcumin is used to treat, it is more commonly used to treat inflammation without chronic side effects including gastrointestinal ulceration, kidney failure, and liver failure, and a considerable amount of research is currently being conducted to determine its anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial capacity. Similarly, dichloroacetic acid (DCA), a synthetic antitumor drug, causes cancer cell apoptosis by correcting metabolic oddities.
Current anti-inflammatory medications and cancer treatments, although effective, can produce serious side effects, which in some cases can be irreversible. For example, although common anti-inflammatory drugs such as analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, mefenamic acid, diclofenac, naproxen, and indomethacin, have been proven to manage pain and swelling, they are relatively inefficient and can produce significant side effects with prolonged use.
Although curcumin and DCA exhibit qualities that show promise for effectively treating certain life-threatening diseases, they do come with some drawbacks. Curcumin, while non-toxic, has low bioavailability and DCA can cause neurotoxicity in high concentrations. Eliminating these complications are important in developing possible curcumin and DCA drug treatments.
Therefore, there remains a need for improved compositions for treatment of inflammation.
It is an object of the invention to provide compositions with higher potency, greater bioavailability, fewer or decreased side effects, or a combination thereof and methods of using them for treating a range of diseases and disorders.